The Catalan Pyrenees attractions

Dominating La Seu d'Urgell's old town is the 12th-century, pale sandstone Santa Maria cathedral – one of Catalonia’s outstanding Romanesque buildings. Its neat cloister, with three original galleries, is rich in cha…

Consecrated in AD 888, Ripoll's monastery was Catalonia’s spiritual and cultural heart from the mid-10th to mid-11th century. The five-naved basilica was adorned in about 1100 with a stone portal that ranks among Sp…

On Taüll's fringes, this 12th-century Romanesque church is a gem not only for its elegant, simple lines and slender six-storey bell tower (which you can climb), but also for the art that once graced its interior. Th…

The region's high point (literally and figuratively) is Núria's strangely austere 1911 sanctuary, which sits incongruously in a building (now a hotel) that emits an unfortunate boarding-school vibe. A gold-trimmed p…

Who gallops through the hills around Sant Joan de les Abadesses on stormy nights, on a horse engulfed in flames and accompanied by ravenous black dogs? If you believe the legends, it's the cursed Count Arnau, whose …

The monastery's 14th-century Palau de l'Abadia houses a fascinating audiovisual exhibition tracing the source of the Count Arnau legend. Folk songs from the 19th century bemoan the count as a seducer of the monaster…

The slender six-storey, 12th-century tower of Santa Eulàlia d'Erill la Vall, once used for communications and valley surveillance, is thought to be the most elegant in the area. The church interior is decorated by c…

Within the remarkably colourful frescoed walls of this 12th- and 13th-century church, gaze upon the haunting Romanesque form of the Crist de Salardú. This gaunt wooden sculpture of Jesus on the cross dates to the 13…

Boí's 11th-century church gives the village an air of romance with its angular five-storey stone bell tower, which was restored after a major fire in the 13th century and can now be climbed (all 75 steps of it). The…

I want emails from Lonely Planet with travel and product information, promotions, advertisements, third-party offers, and
surveys. I can unsubscribe any time using the unsubscribe link at the end of all emails. Contact Lonely Planet here. Lonely Planet Privacy Policy.